Michigan State starting CB expected to miss rest of season due to injury
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dillon Tatum made the trip to Ohio State and was on the field Saturday night, just not in the role his team hoped.
The Michigan State sophomore starting cornerback wasn’t in uniform due to an undisclosed injury and watched from the sideline as the Buckeyes rolled to a 38-3 win.
“Dillon Tatum, he’s going to probably be out for the rest of the year with his injury,” interim coach Harlon Barnett said after the game, “but he’ll be back strong next year for sure.”
In a challenging season full of adversity and injuries, that’s the latest blow for the Spartans (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten), who have dropped seven of their last eight games. Tatum, a former four-star recruit who appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman last year while bouncing between different positions, settled in as a starting cornerback this fall. He had 45 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and a team-high seven pass break-ups over the first nine games.
With Tatum out, Michigan State was very thin at cornerback against the Buckeyes due to injuries. Charles Brantley, a returning starter, has missed the last seven games while Marqui Lowery has also appeared in only three games. True freshman Chance Rucker has taken over a starting role and fifth-year senior Chester Kimbrough made his first start of the season against the Buckeyes. Both were faced with the difficult task of attempting to cover Marvin Harrison Jr., an All-American and arguably the top receiver in college football.
Harrison made another case to be in the running for the Heisman Trophy by posting seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score while playing less than three full quarters.
“He’s a tough matchup, he’s one of the best receivers in the country, so we knew that,” Barnett said of Harrison. “I wish we would have still did some things better, don’t get me wrong, we didn’t want to just give him up some of the things that he did get.”
Barnett replaced Rucker in the third quarter with sophomore Ade Willie, who played most of the second half. Rucker has 21 tackles, one interception and three pass break-ups while appearing in all 10 games this season.
“Chance is going to be a really, really good football player,” Barnett said. “He’s going to be really good. It’s a learning lesson for him.”
Michigan State suffered multiple injuries on Saturday night, including to defensive tackle Simeon Barrow and defensive end Zion Young, who both returned to the game. Defensive tackle Maverick Hansen was also injured, as was starting center Nick Samac, who left in the third quarter and didn’t play again as Dallas Fincher took over.
“It was a minor injury,” Barnett said of Samac. “He should be fine, Nick should be fine. He’s a competitor, he brings energy every day.”
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan State’s latest matchup against Ohio State was very similar to recent ones.
Dominant.
The Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) rolled to a 38-3 win against the Spartans (3-7, 1-6) on Saturday night.
Here are takeaways and observations from the game:
* There was nothing surprising about what transpired on the field in front of 105,137 fans at the Horseshoe. Ohio State’s top-five defense stymied one of the worst offenses in the nation and the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings put the game away early with touchdowns on five of six first-half possessions.;
Less than a decade removed from being the Buckeyes’ top challenger in the Big Ten, Michigan State has now lost eight in a row in the series. Ohio State continues to show it’s in a class above and their last seven victories against the Spartans have come by margins of 35, 29, 49, 40, 24, 20 and 45 points.
Michigan State is closing out one of the toughest schedules in the nation and has been noncompetitive against a trio of top-10 opponents. Washington, Michigan and Ohio State, who all remain unbeaten, combined to outscore the Spartans 128-10. They should have two more wins (Rutgers, Iowa) on their resume but blowing a pair of fourth-quarter leads doesn’t work out well when facing a slate like that.
Michigan State is now out of the running to reach six wins to become bowl eligible and plays at Indiana next week before hosting Penn State in the regular-season finale at Ford Field. Barring the Spartans improbably winning their last two and being selected for a bowl if there aren’t enough eligible teams, this will be the third time in the last four seasons the Spartans miss the postseason.
* The season began with uncertainty at quarterback and that theme remains pushing through to the finish. Katin Houser continues to be the starter and Sam Leavitt is planning on sitting out the rest of the season to take a redshirt for his true freshman year, interim coach Harlon Barnett said after the game. Leavitt has been a spark recently and threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass each of the last two weeks but has already appeared in four games and will lose the redshirt if he takes another snap.
Michigan State doesn’t have much depth at the position heading down the stretch with Houser as the only available scholarship quarterback. Noah Kim, who started the first five games, hasn’t played since being benched, didn’t dress the last three weeks and Barnet said it’s unclear if he will be available again this fall. That has resulted in walk-on Andrew Schorfhaar taking over the No. 2 spot and the redshirt junior made his college debut late in the fourth quarter while completing his lone pass attempt. The unusual situation at quarterback is far from ideal but fits with the theme of this entire season.
* Houser had a strong first career start by throwing for two touchdowns and running for a score in a loss at Rutgers last month but has not been effective since then in an anemic and shorthanded offense. The redshirt freshman was 12-for-24 for 92 yards against the Buckeyes in his third straight turnover-free performance and has led just one touchdown drive in the last 17 quarters.
Michigan State came out throwing under the lights Saturday night and mixed in a few decent runs while crossing midfield on each of its first four possessions but got only three points out of those series. A large deficit early again obviously didn’t help the run game and Nathan Carter and Jaren Mangham combined for 20 carries for 87 yards..
The Spartans also lack the game-changing receivers they had recently and the issue was compounded by starters Tre Mosley and Jaron Glover being out Saturday due to injury. Not a single Michigan State player reached 25 yards receiving against the Buckeyes.
* Sticking with receivers, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. is arguably the best in college football. The Heisman Trophy candidate did almost everything he wanted while posting seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns, along with a score on the ground, in less than three full quarters of work.
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